mgedwards – Page 105

Flat Stanley’s Adventure on the Zambezi River

Flat Stanley traveled half way around the world from his home in North Idaho to Zambia, a country in southern Africa. He joined us on an adventure this weekend on the lower Zambezi River, an area north of Victoria Falls. We had a memorable time staying at Zambezi Breezers, a camp located near Chirindu on the Zambian-Zimbabwean border.

Flat Stanley enjoyed his very first safari river boat cruise down the Zambezi River. Flanked on one side of the river by Zambia and the other by Zimbabwe, he cruised down the river and encountered beautiful terrain and exotic wildlife. He passed several islands as we navigated the river. Mountains rose in the distance on each side of the river valley. Subtropical plants and trees dotted the landscape, and long wild grasses covered the land except where the earth crumbled along the river bank, exposing the rich red soil.

During the river cruise, Flat Stanley saw all sorts of wild animals, from elephants that grazed along the river and crocodiles lounging on the river banks to hippos soaking themselves in the water like a chain of floating islands. Flat Stanley observed many types of birds, including eagles and cranes, and he even saw an impala in a distant meadow. His favorite moment was taking a photo with a young elephant watching our boat curiously from the river bank.

Flat Stanley saw storm clouds brewing in all directions, a common occurrence during the rainy season. He saw brilliant lightning flashes, heard bellowing thunder roar and surveyed the beautiful and volatile cloud formations painting the sky. He saw a couple of particularly dark storm clouds brewing not far from us. One of the storms barreled toward us quickly from the south. Although we had turned around and were heading back to our camp, we met the storm with our boat in the middle of the river. We battled fierce winds, hail, and lightning. We were soaking wet but made it back to the camp safely.

Flat Stanley survived but was discolored from our memorable experience. He enjoyed his adventure on the Zambezi River and will never forget it. It changed his life forever.

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Waiting and Waiting

One of the joys and frustrations of overseas life is waiting for mail to arrive. Receiving mail, especially packages, is usually a pleasant experience. It symbolizes a physical link to one’s home country and often contains items you’ve been waiting to receive. It can seem like Christmas at any given moment receiving that box or envelope you’ve waited for with great expectation. At the same time, the anticipation can be difficult. If you’re waiting for something you ordered awhile ago, you may experience frustration waiting a month or more for it to arrive. The moment it’s in your hands you might feel a rush of excitement, but the waiting is a grind.

Living overseas, experiencing the haphazard nature of the mail service, makes one appreciate the convenience and reliability of the U.S. Postal Service (or domestic postal service in many other countries, for that matter). While not perfect, it’s easy to forget how good it really is. When you’re overseas, unless you’re lucky to have access to a U.S. military post office (APO), you’re usually subjected to the following inconveniences:

Mail that never arrives or arrives months after mailing via the local postal service;
Mail that is pilfered and plundered;
Mail that arrives broken, battered, or damp; and
Mail that costs a fortune to send.

It’s a constant reminder that although living overseas may seem exciting and exotic, it also has its fair share of challenges that are particularly noticeable in little ways such as the mail.

Playing Games

Many expats living in places without extensive entertainment options love playing games for fun. Poker and other card games are especially popular, as well as trivia nights at public places, board game nights hosted at expats’ homes, golf outings, and video game marathons. They’re fun diversions from the norm, particularly when “fun” activities such as the theater, sporting events, or (jazz/disco) clubs are few and far between.

Game nights are a great way to get together with your friends and colleagues and socialize in a competitive atmosphere. Still, I’m a contrarian when it comes to competitive game playing. I would rather channel my competitive energy and enthusiasm into something more financially lucrative. While I enjoy socializing and joining acquaintances at an occasional get together, I’ve never really had much of an interest in playing games on a recurring basis. I often prefer to take the money and time I would have spent on the activity and invest or donate it. I once suggested starting an investment club with someone who enjoyed playing poker. They liked the idea but opted to put down $40 a night on a chance to rake in $200 or lose it all. Personally, I would rather spend the four hours and $40 I would have spent gambling and invest it in the stock market. The odds of success are better, and the returns tend to outperform those of game nights.

Although I do enjoy socializing and occasionally participating in a game night, I usually weigh the cost and benefit and then decide whether I want to spend an evening’s worth of precious time playing games. Other activities often take priority and have a much higher return.